MINNEAPOLIS — For the last four years, Mattisse Johnson has operated #FACE, her day spa in Uptown, with the door locked.
"Because all day long we have people off the street who try to come in," she said. "We have had people we've let in, thinking they're here for good reasons, and they've stolen from us. In the middle of the day."
Mattisse says she wants her business to stay at the corner of West Lake Street and Colfax , because she's a believer in Uptown -- and its recovery.
"I love Uptown because growing up in Minneapolis, this was the dream," she said.
But a proposed homeless shelter right across the street has business owners banding together in opposition.
"I think it would be great somewhere else. I just don't think it belongs on a business corridor," Johnson said.
"One more thing that's going to impede the recovery of uptown," said State Farm insurance agent Lawrence Thomas.
Thomas, whose office is right next door, feels the same as Matisse -- that homeless services are needed but that the location is not appropriate.
"And I feel like these conversations, if they're uncomfortable, I get it. But they need to be had," Thomas said.
The proposal before the Minneapolis Panning Commission is from Lakeshore Care Inc, a company formed in March.
Its project description says they plan to "offer temporary, supportive care for individuals recovering from illnesses or medical procedures."
Lakeshore Care told KARE 11 News they have a medical team with decades of experience to offer respite care.
They want that particular location for proximity to healthcare providers, accessibility, and community integration..
And they plan to address safety concerns in part with security patrols and not allowing clients to "loiter or wander aimlessly"
In this week's meeting several people spoke out. Local business owner Andrea Corbin from the Uptown Association and Lynnlake Association says residents are weighing in as well.
"It's everybody that lives and works in this area," Corbin said.
The next step in this process is the Minneapolis Planning Commission will hold a hearing on August 12.